


Please Understand.

by AshleyJinxxBiersack



Category: Youtubers, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom, vlogging
Genre: Depression, Gen, Jack talks about serious stuff, Mark and Jack are best friends in this one, Mark has depression, VidCon, YouTube, it's just a fic they're both so precious and Mark isn't depressed, mental health, possibly, trigger warning, vlogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 12:54:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11357922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshleyJinxxBiersack/pseuds/AshleyJinxxBiersack
Summary: Please, always remember that you are not ever alone. There is support out there for you, you just need to be brave and ask for help. It’s okay to need help sometimes, just like Mark needs help now.





	Please Understand.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm struggling with my own bout of depression recently, and I needed a way to vent my stresses of no one understanding how it works. 
> 
> Please, always remember that you are never alone, and you never have to deal with mental health issues alone. There is always help out there if you need it.

Mental health is hard to live with. No matter the intensity, no matter how far apart the lapses are, it’s hard to deal with on a daily basis, and people just don’t seem to understand that. It’s a topic that isn’t widely taken seriously, and it makes it ten times harder for people who suffer to get the understanding and the help they need to get through it. One in four people in the world will be affected by mental health disorders at some point in their lives. Out of the entire world’s population, around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, but a big percentage of those people won’t get the help they need because it’s not a topic that is understood or talked about widely enough. Mental disorders are among the leading causes of ill-health and disability, yet very few bat an eyelash to that.

Mark is one of the percentage that suffers with Depression, yet doesn’t get the help needed because no one understands. The only person to truly understand is Jack, but there’s still only so much the Irishman can do to help. Mark appreciates everything Jack does for him, though.

Jack was in LA for a convention, and he was staying with Mark before they go to the hotel together the night before the con. They were playing videogames and chatting to pass the time, but Mark’s heart wasn’t as into it as it normally would be. He was having another internal battle with himself, and Jack knew that straight away. He didn’t comment, though, knowing that if Mark wanted to talk, he’d do it in his own time.

Another round of Overwatch ended, and Jack flopped back with a laugh, smiling brightly at Mark. Mark half-heartedly returned it as best he could.

“Is it cool if I get coffee before we go again?” the green-haired man asked.

“You know it is, man. You’ve been here often enough,” Mark mused quietly. Jack shrugged.

“I know, but it isn’t my house, so I have to check these things,” he said simply, placing his controller down and getting up. He stretched, making a soft whining noise as the aches in his muscles started to settle down a little.

As Jack poured the hot water into his mug a few minutes later, Mark was catching his attention. Jack turned around, flashing a smile to his friend, who seemed to be frowning now.

“You alright, Mark?” he asked. Mark shook his head, sitting down at the island in the middle of his kitchen. Jack made a second coffee, handing one to Mark before sitting wordlessly beside his best friend. He kept himself quiet, waiting patiently as he sipped his coffee. He wasn’t going to rush Mark. He didn’t need to.

The silence seemed to drag for a while. It wasn’t uncomfortable, though, it was just thick.

“I’ve been going downhill again,” Mark finally said. Jack looked at him, giving the red-head all his attention. “I can’t bring myself to record more videos, or even really upload the ones I already have. I almost don’t want to go to the con because it’s a bad run this time. I just… I feel like I’m such a burden on you, Sean. You’re here to have a good time and I’m just… like this.”

Jack kept quiet until he was sure he wouldn’t accidentally interrupt Mark, then he started talking.

“You’re not a burden on me, Mark. It may feel like that, but you’re not. If anything, I’m a burden on you because I’m the one staying in your house. But that isn’t what’s important here. What’s important is you taking it easy and taking your time. You’ll get through this, you always do,” he said. “I can help you with the consistency of your video uploads. All you gotta do is tell me what order they go in, and I can set them to upload. Easy peasy. And if you don’t want to do a lot, or even anything at all in the con until you’re ready, don’t. No one will mind.”

“I don’t want to disappoint the fans,” Mark said worriedly. Jack shook his head.

“You won’t. They’ll understand,” he assured his friend.

“How do you know?” Mark asked.

“I just do,” Jack said. “Can I borrow your office? I’ll prove it to you. I’ll show you that your community won’t mind you taking time for yourself. They will always support you and your health and happiness.”

“Sure,” Mark said. Jack smiled, giving Mark a light nudge as he finished his coffee. He made his way up to Mark’s office, his American friend following close behind.

Once Mark had helped Jack set everything up and turn everything on, he stood out of shot and watched as Jack made sure everything was in sync before beginning his video, flashing Mark a smile.

“Top of the mornin’ to ya laddies! My name is Jacksepticeye, and this is a vlog!” he said, chuckling softly. “This vlog is a little different to the usual stuff I do. It’s going to be more serious. It’s going to be a serious talk, because I feel like not many people have this talk these days, and it needs to be addressed, I think.” He paused a moment, giving a questioning look to Mark. Mark just shrugged, nodding his head once. He knew what Jack wanted to do, and he trusted his best friend a lot.

“As you all know, I’m currently in LA right now. This is my pit-stop before vidcon this weekend, and I’m staying with Mark. That’s why I’m in his office right now! I’m borrowing his setup to make this video, because I’m trying to show him that we all care about his health and happiness, whether it’s me, or you guys, or any of the people in his community.

“As many of you may know, and I have his permission to talk about this; Mark has depression. He has had since his early teens. He was struggling with it when I met him, but that hasn’t stopped us being friends. For anyone who may not really understand it, depression is a common and serious medical illness in your brain. It’s a mental illness, and it affects how you feel, think and act in a negative way. Thankfully, it is treatable, but it can sometimes be hard to get help for it. It can be as simple as causing sadness and loss of motivation, to as deep as losing interest in all the activities you love and enjoy. For Mark, that includes YouTube, because when he has bad days through this illness, it can decrease his ability to function.

Symptoms of depression vary from mild to severe, and it’s a different case for everyone who has to go through life dealing with it. Symptoms can include but are not limited to; changes in appetite, so weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting. Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, as I touched on a moment ago. Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, or loss of energy or increased fatigue. Feeling worthless or guilty, difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions, and sometimes, symptoms can include thoughts of death or suicide.”

Jack paused for a second, making mental notes to edit out the sections of him researching what he was talking about, but also making a note to link any resources he used in the description box. Mark was watching intently, listening to every word Jack was saying.

“Now, before you all jump to conclusions, Mark _IS NOT_ suicidal. I’m with him, and I’d have seen that sign and would not be making this video, were that the case. He’s simply struggling with the motivational side of things. He’s finding it hard to motivate himself to upload videos, or even go to vidcon this weekend. He’s feeling like a burden, and I need you guys to help me show him that he is far from a burden.

“You have to be gentle with this kind of thing. You can’t force anything upon someone with depression, but the reassurance and messages of positivity will go a long way. Mark is my best friend, and I hate seeing him like this, so for as long as it takes, I’m going to remind him that he’s not a burden on me, and that I’m always going to support him no matter what. We need to be patient with him so he can get himself through all this so he’ll come out the other side and get back to normal for a little while.

“I’m rambling a lot, I know, and I’m sorry. I don’t normally do serious videos, I mean, have you seen my content?” Jack chuckled lightly. “I just felt like this needed to be spoken about, because mental health seems like a very… taboo, kind of topic. No one really talks about it, which means not everyone understands it. I’ll put links in the description to where I got my information from, and also links to helplines, should any of you out there need them. Please, always remember that you are not ever alone. There is support out there for you, you just need to be brave and ask for help. It’s okay to need help sometimes, just like Mark needs help now. If he seems down at all in the convention this weekend, or doesn’t show up at all, don’t be mad at him. Find it in yourselves to understand how hard this is for him, and remember that he loves you guys a lot. He really loves his community, and he’ll bounce back in no time. He always does.”

Jack smiled over at Mark, seeing his friend relaxing a little as he smiled right back.

“My regular outro doesn’t feel right in this video, but thank you all so much for watching this video, and for understanding. Please, take care of one another, and never forget that you are loved, and there is help out there for you. I will see all you dudes, in the next video. Bye!”

As soon as the camera was off and Jack was starting the process of editing, Mark was moving around the desk and pulling Jack into a hug. The Irishman was caught off-guard, but he didn’t pull away. He let Mark hug him for as long as needed, and didn’t go back to his video until Mark was ready to leave him alone a while.

“Thank you,” Mark said simply, giving Jack a squeeze before stepping away, smiling as he mentioned coffee and takeaway. Jack chuckled, agreeing to Chinese before turning back to the video.

The video went up that evening, and within minutes, Mark had comments flooding in all across his social media from his fans, all telling him that they love him and it's okay for him to take some time for himself if he needs it. Mark teared up at the sheer amount of positivity coming in, but he smiled the entire time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys for reading, and I hope you all have a great weekend. <3


End file.
